T20 can free up our all-rounders, says Ottis Gibson, as Yorkshire hope a change in formats can inspire a change in fortune

Yorkshire start their T20 campaign against Birmingham Bears at Edgbaston on Saturday seeking a change in fortune after slipping to the bottom of the County Championship Second Division.

They will have a strong side out in the Second City, including Jonny Bairstow, who is set to make his final appearance before linking up with England’s squad for the Test against Ireland on June 1. Bairstow made a successful return in the Championship games against Glamorgan and Durham after the broken leg and fractured ankle he suffered in September.

While Bairstow promises oomph at the top of the order, with Adam Lyth, Dawid Malan and Shan Masood completing a strong top-four, Gibson is hoping that T20 will bring the best out of Yorkshire’s all-round set.

They have a fine quartet in Dom Bess, George Hill, Matty Revis and Jordan Thompson but, as a collective, they have yet to hit top form this year, with four Championship appearances having brought Bess 77 runs and nine wickets, Hill 217 runs and 10 wickets, and Thompson 130 runs and 16 wickets; Revis, who has played two matches, has made 78 runs and taken three wickets.

Hill has shown moments of quality with three half-centuries (more than any other Yorkshire player this season) and Thompson is the club’s leading wicket-taker. All four have the short-form attributes to help Yorkshire in their quest to win the T20 cup for the first time.

Asked whether the club can generate form and confidence in the 20-over game, qualities which could then bleed back into their red-ball cricket when they return to Championship action next month, head coach Gibson said: “That’s what I’m hoping, especially for the all-rounders. I feel like there’s just a bit of a crisis of confidence at the minute with our all-rounders.

“Our all-rounders haven’t really fired yet this year properly. Hill showed us how to do it in our last match (against Durham), but, collectively, I’m hoping they can find some form. If we’re going to win, we need all of our pieces to fit into place nicely and really contribute to the whole picture. Winning is hard, and you need all your key people to be firing to help you win.”

Yorkshire won enough matches last year (seven in the 14-match group stage), followed by a quarter-final triumph at Surrey, to reach Finals Day for just the third time since T20 started in 2003.

They have signed David Wiese, the Namibia all-rounder, in an attempt to go the crucial steps further, although Wiese is not available to start the tournament due to his involvement at the Indian Premier League; Harry Brook and Joe Root are also at the IPL.

“We’ve brought in a No 6 in David Wiese who can finish games for us, and we’re looking forward to having him here,” said Gibson. “Last year, we chopped and changed a little bit but this year we will have all-rounders from 6 most likely to 10, so there’s a lot of firepower at the back end of the game.

“The top-order is strong - Lyth was probably the best batsman in the Blast last year, Malan is available for quite a lot of games, Shan did really well in the Blast last year also (for Derbyshire), so we’ve got a really good squad of players that we can put out. This year, the intention is to try and go the extra step further and hopefully we can get the campaign off to a good start.”

Of the all-rounders Gibson hopes will fire, Thompson had a particularly good outing when Yorkshire lost their semi-final against Lancashire at Edgbaston last season. The 26-year-old smashed a 17-ball half-century that included six sixes.

“Hopefully, all of these guys will go out and try and gain some confidence from just getting in good positions and hitting the ball and bowling, and contributing to wins in the Blast,” added Gibson.

“If we can’t win in the County Championship just yet, then can we win in the Blast? If we can get some wins under our belt in the Blast and start to get some confidence through the squad, if that’s what it takes, then hopefully we can do that and take it from there.

“When you look at T20, it’s a three-dimensional game, and we have a lot of three-dimensional players who can bowl, strike the ball well and be dynamic in the field. That gives you a real opportunity to win games, and that’s what we have in our squad. Hopefully, those guys can catch fire as soon as possible.”

Saturday’s game, which starts at 6.30, is part of a new initiative known as “Blast Off” to kickstart the competition. Derbyshire take on Lancashire at the ground from 2.30 on what is essentially a mini-Finals Day.

“It’s new, it sounds interesting, and I’m looking forward to being a part of it,” said Gibson.

“Starting when we do (in the evening), I suppose, in a sense, it probably gives you the feeling of what the final might be like if we get there in July.”

Yorkshire (from): Lyth, Malan, Bairstow, Masood (captain), Fraine, Hill, Revis, Bess, Thompson, Leech, Mike, Tattersall, Chohan.